This is the 17th Annual Review episode of Brain Science , celebrating the first episode which aired on December 15, 2006. We review the highlights of 2023, which included both new guests and the return of several favorites. Episodes Released in 2023: BS 204 (Encore) and BS 205 featured molecular biologist Guy Caldwell, PhD from the University of Alabama. Caldwell uses the tiny roundworm C. Elegans to search for potential treatments of Parkinson's Disease. BS 206: Paco Calvo , PhD, author of Plan...
Dec 15, 2023•52 min•Season 17Ep. 214
In the this episode of Brain Science we talk with neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell about his new book Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will . While many neuroscientists and philosophers argue that free will is an illusion, Mitchell argues that the ability to make meaningful choices is part of our evolutionary heritage. He also addresses the important issue of determinism, siding with those physicists who argue that the fundamental nature of our universe is NOT deterministic. These issues are...
Oct 27, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Season 17Ep. 213
This month's episode of Brain Science features Thomas Metzinger, author of "The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self." Metzinger is a philosopher with a longstanding interest in Philosophy of Mind with a focus on incorporating the findings of neuroscience. We discuss the implications of the discovery that consciousness is a biological process generated by the interaction of the brain, body, and external world. Metzinger also emphasized the importance of considering altere...
Sep 22, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 17Ep. 212
This episode of Brain Science features the return of molecular biologist Seth Grant . We briefly review his decades of research into the complexity of the protein structure of the synapse and then we focus on his most recent paper, which describes how the life-span of synapse proteins appears to change as animals age. Grant reflects of the significance of this finding both for animal research and human medicine. Papers discussed in this episode: Bulovaite, E., Qiu, Z., Kratschke, M., Zgraj, A., ...
Aug 25, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 17Ep. 211
This episode is our first review of neurotransmitters since episode 8 way back in 2007. We start with some basics of neuron function and brain anatomy, but the meat of the episode is a discussion of neurotransmitters and how they work. The key idea is that a simple molecule, such as dopamine, can have a wide variety of effects because of the existence of multiple receptors. This episode is appropriate for listeners of all backgrounds, but might be a little challenging for new listeners. It will ...
Jul 28, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 17Ep. 210
This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Luiz Pessoa, author of The Entangled Brain: How Perception, Cognition, and Emotion Are Woven Together. This is Pessoa's first book aimed at a general audience and it provides a concise overview of our current understanding of basic brain function. However, he also explains the limitations of the traditional modular view of the brain. A key take home point is that emotion and cognition are deeply intertwined at every level. Links and Refe...
Jun 23, 2023•1 hr 7 min
This month's episode is an interview with Cambridge Psychology professor Sander van der Linden , author of " Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity ." We discuss the important topic of how techniques like appealing to emotion contribute to the spread of misinformation. Dr. Campbell reflects on why this topic is important. Links and References: Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity by Sander van der Linden Sander van der Linde...
May 26, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 17Ep. 208
This month's episode is an encore presentation of an interview with neuroscientist Luiz Pessoa discussing his fascinating book " The Cognitive-Emotional Brain: From Interactions to Integration ." We explored the surprising role of the amygdala in decision making and learned that cognition and emotion are deeply intertwined at every level. Links and References: The Cognitive-Emotional Brain: From Interactions to Integration by Luiz Pessoa Luiz Pessoa , PhD (University of Maryland) Please visit ht...
Apr 28, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 17Ep. 207
This month we have an intriguing interview with Dr. Paco Calvo from the Minimal Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Mercia in Spain. We talk with him about his new book Planta Sapiens: The New Science of Intelligence. We discuss the scientific evidence for plant intelligence while acknowledging that intelligence and consciousness are not the same. It is interesting to think of plants as demonstrating embodied cognition in contrast to the "intelligence" demonstrated by computer software....
Mar 24, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 17Ep. 206
In this follow-up interview with molecular biologist Dr. Guy Caldwell we learn more about how the tools of molecular biology are used to unravel questions in neurobiology and provide hope for better treatments for problems like Parkinson's Disease . Links and References: Guy Caldwell, PhD (University of Alabama) LinkedIn BS 204 Encore of 2009 interview The Worm Shack Mew, M., Caldwell, K. A., & Caldwell, G. A. (2022). From bugs to bedside: functional annotation of human genetic variation for...
Feb 24, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 17Ep. 205
This month's episode is an encore presentation of an interview with Dr. Guy Caldwell from the University of Alabama. Dr. Caldwell explains how tools from molecular biology make it possible to use the famous C. Elegans roundworm to improve our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease. Dr. Caldwell will return to Brain Science next month to give us an update on his work. Links and References: Visit the Wormshack at the University of Alabama Molecular neurodegeneration, ...
Jan 27, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 17Ep. 204
This month's episode (BS 203) celebrates the 16th Anniversary of Brain Science with the annual review episode. This is a listener favorite providing highlights and key ideas from the episodes of Brain Science that were posted in 2022. Topics included hearing, grief, emotion, embodied cognition, consciousness and more. Note: This month's episode transcript is FREE. Please Visit Our Sponsors: MasterClass at masterclass.com/ginger TextExpander at textexpander.com/brain-science 2022 Episodes of Brai...
Dec 23, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 16Ep. 203
The idea that meditation is a "mind science" is popular, but in this interview Canadian philosopher Evan Thompson argues that this claim does not stand up to either scientific or philosophical scrutiny. As one of the pioneers of the Embodied Cognition movement Thompson reminds us that the Mind is not restricted to the Brain and we must also consider how other recent discoveries in neuroscience fail to support the claim that meditation provides neutral scientific insight into how the Mind really ...
Nov 25, 2022•53 min•Season 16Ep. 202
This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with WA (Bill) Harris, author of Zero to Birth: How the Human Brain Is Built . We explore how the human brain develops from the fertilized egg up until birth. There are some surprises along the way, including the fact that we actually have more neurons before we are born than we will ever have again! Links and References: Zero to Birth: How the Human Brain Is Built by William A Harris Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for additional...
Oct 28, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 16Ep. 201
This month's episode is a discussion with the editors of a fascinating new book Movement Matters: How Embodied Cognition Informs Teaching and Learning . We explore how embodied cognition challenges long standing dualist approaches to both cognition and learning. Sheila Macrine and Jennifer Fugate also share some of the innovative approaches that improve both how we teach and how we learn. Links and References: Movement Matters: How Embodied Cognition Informs Teaching and Learning edited by Sheil...
Sep 23, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 16Ep. 200
This month's episode is an interview with Batja Mesquita, author of " Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions ." This is an important book because it describes the evidence that Emotions are not just something people experience "from the inside out," but they also occur between people, which means that culture plays a critical role. We also explore why it is important to appreciate why people from from different cultures may experience emotions in surprisingly different ways. Links and Referenc...
Aug 26, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 16Ep. 199
This month's episode of Brain Science is a free encore playing of my interview with Evan Thompson about his book Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind . We discuss how the enactive approach to embodied cognition offers potential clues to the mystery of how the brain can generate Consciousness. A free episode transcript is also available. This is the 2nd of two free encore episodes that are being shared to give listeners a taste of the diverse content available to Premium...
Jul 22, 2022•56 min•Season 16Ep. 198
This is the free transcript for Episode 197 with Frank Amthor, author of Neuroscience for Dummies . For unlimited access to all transcripts and the entire back catalogue of Brain Science sign up for our Premium Subscription . You can cancel any time.
Jul 12, 2022
This month's episode of Brain Science features an encore playing of my interview with Dr. Frank Amthor, author of Neuroscience for Dummies and Neurobiology for Dummies . It is a great episode for newbies and will be a good review for longtime listeners. This is a FREE sample of my Premium content and the episode transcript is also FREE. Links and References: Essentials of Modern Neuroscience by Franklin Amthor, W. Anne Burton Theibert, David Standaert, and Erik Roberson Neurobiology For Dummies ...
Jun 20, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 16Ep. 197
This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Hakwan Lau, author of In Consciousness we Trust: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Subjective Experience . Lau talks about shortcomings in current theories about how the brain generates consciousness, but he also introduces something he calls perceptual reality monitoring. Although this is a somewhat technical discussion it is accessible to listeners who are new to the neuroscience of consciousness. Links and References: In Consciousness we ...
May 27, 2022•56 min•Season 16Ep. 196
This month's episode is an interview with David J Anderson from Cal Tech. We talk about his new book The Nature of the Beast: How Emotions Guide US . We talk about how emotion CAN be studied in animals by using methods that focus on brain states rather than verbal descriptions. Dr. Anderson also explains why this experimental work is essential to developing more effective treatment of mental illnesses. This episode is a follow up to my discussion of The Neuroscience of Emotion: A New Synthesis b...
Apr 22, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 16Ep. 195
The neuroscience of grief and grieving is a relatively new field, but one that offers practical discoveries for people of all backgrounds. This month we talk with Mary-Frances O'Connor , author of The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How we Learn from Love and Loss . We talk about what has been learned from a variety of approaches, including both brain imaging and, surprisingly even from animal studies. We learn why it is so hard for our brains to accept the loss of a loved one and this...
Mar 25, 2022•54 min•Season 16Ep. 194
In this month's episode of Brain Science I explore two big picture questions: What does it mean to claim that the Mind is "embodied?" and How does this change our understanding of our place in the world? The conversation was inspired by the book "Out of the Cave: A Natural Philosophy of Mind and Knowing" by Mark L Johnson and Donald M Tucker. This episode builds on several previous discussions of "embodied cognition" so it might be challenging to newer listeners. I have included a list of these ...
Feb 25, 2022•18 min•Season 16Ep. 193
This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Nina Kraus, author of " Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World ." Dr. Kraus has spent 30 years exploring how the brain processes sound. We explore why sound processing involves much more that just the auditory cortex as well how the sounds we experience change our brains, both for better and for worse. Links and References: Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World by Nina Kraus Nina Kraus...
Jan 28, 2022•53 min•Season 16Ep. 192
This is our 15th annual review episode, which highlights the guests and key ideas we have shared in 2021. Interviews included return visits from Jeff Hawkins and David Eagleman. New guests including Anil Seth and Antonio Damasio, who both emphasized the importance of our bodies (not just our brains) in understanding Consciousness. Available soon: Free Transcript! Full Episode List: BS 180 Bruce Goldstein , author of The Mind: Consciousness, Prediction, and the Brain BS 181 Sir Simon Baron-Cohen ...
Dec 22, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 15Ep. 191
This month's episode of Brain Science features David Badre, author of " On Task: How Our Brain Gets Things Done ." He gives us an overview of recent research in the field of cognitive control, which has has actually overturned some popular assumptions about things like willpower. Our focus is on the practical implications of this research. Links and References: On Task: How Our Brain Gets Things Done by David Badre David Badre , PhD, Professor at Brown University Please visit http://brainscience...
Nov 24, 2021•56 min•Ep. 190
Neurologist and best-selling author Antonio Damasio is one of our most requested guests. This month we finally had the opportunity to talk about his newest book " Feeling & Knowing: Making Minds Conscious ," which he explained is somewhat different from his previous efforts. His goal was to write something "briefer" and more accessible. Thus it is definitely a book that requires no background in neuroscience. The key theme is that feelings and emotions are foundational aspects of Consciousne...
Oct 29, 2021•53 min•Season 15Ep. 189
BS 188 features neuroscientist Anil Seth discussing his new book "Being You: A New Science of Consciousness." We have had many guests talk about consciousness, but Seth represents the newer generation who have actually been able to devote their careers to this fundamental question: How does the brain generate conscious experience. His perspective is both practical and illuminating. Links and References: Being You: A New Science of Consciousness by Anil Seth Making up the Mind: How the Brain Crea...
Sep 24, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 15Ep. 188
BS 187 features bestselling author and neuroscientist David Eagleman . We talk about his latest book "Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain." It is a great overview of the current science of brain plasticity appropriate for both new listeners and longtime fans. Links and References: Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain by David Eagleman More from David Eagleman author website at https://eagleman.com Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman (in...
Aug 27, 2021•53 min•Season 15Ep. 187
This month's episode features Mark Humphries, author of " The Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds." We explore how the brain uses electrical signaling in surprising ways, beginning with a look at how an action potential (aka. "the spike") is produced. Then we consider what Humphries calls "the dark neurons," which are neurons that rarely generate spikes. We explore their role and also how it relates to the brain's spontaneous activity. One of the more surprising recent discov...
Jul 23, 2021•49 min•Season 15Ep. 186
